Check it out: World of water awaits

Oliver Jeffers captures the vast, often eerily-still expanse of the South Pole, the brave fortitude of a boy on a mission, and a friendship for the ages in "Lost and Found." When a young boy comes across a lone penguin in suburbia, he is sure that the solemn and silent bird is very lost. A sympathetic and trustworthy sort, the boy decides that he must help the bird that has become a most faithful, if mysterious, companion. With just a rowboat and a suitcase of supplies, boy and bird embark on a voyage of awe-inspiring sights (a starry sky) and certain peril (a massive storm) to reach the penguin's remote iceberg home. It is only after returning his quiet companion to his barren habitat that the boy realizes that the penguin was not lost once he had found a friend - in him. Jeffers captures the essence of the penguin's appeal; the contrast between the bird's rotund, comical form and his thoughtful and dignified nature is infinitely endearing. The illustrations have a cinematic feel that explains the story's adaptation into a short children's film of the same name.

Beaches and Boats

"All the World" by Elizabeth Garton Scanlon

"Arthur's Dream Boat" by Polly Dunbar

"Ballyhoo Bay" by Judy Sierra

"Big Boats" by Catherine Ipcizade (non-fiction)

"Big Bear's Blue Boat" by Eve Bunting*

"Bobo the Sailor Man!" by Eileen Rosenthal

"By Sea" by Brian Biggs

"Captain Small Pig" by Martin Waddell

"Going to a Beach" (non-fiction beginning-reader) by Rebecca Rissman

"Going to the Beach with Lily and Milo" by Pauline Oud*

"Jonathan and the Big Blue Boat" by Philip Stead

"Little Tug" by Stephen Savage*

"Magic Beach" by Alison Lester

"Monkey Ono" by J.C. Phillips

"Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach" by Melanie Watt

"Sea of Dreams" by Dennis Nolan (wordless)

"Tucker: Little Dog Lost and Found" by Danny Sit

"Toot and Pop!" by Sebastian Braun*

"Traction Man and the Beach Odyssey" by Mini Grey

"When a Dragon Moves In" by Jodi Moore

"Who Sank the Boat?" by Pamela Allen*

Just a Little Water: Baths, Pools, and Puddles

"Bath Time" by David Bedford*

"The Bicklebys' Birdbath" by Andrea Perry

"The Boy who Wouldn't Swim" by Deb Lucke

"Brownie & Pearl Take a Dip" by Cynthia Rylant*

"Catch that Baby!" by Nancy Coffelt*

"Cowpoke Clyde and Dirty Dawg" by Lori Mortenson

"The Deep, Deep Puddle" by Mary Jessie Parker

"Down at the Dino Wash Deluxe" by Tim Myer

"Love-A-Duck" by Alan James Brown

"My Best Friend" by Mary Ann Rodmann

"On My Way to the Bath" by Sarah Maizes

"Pig Takes a Bath"(board book) by Michael Dahl*

"Tubby" (board book) by Leslie Patricelli*

Lakes, Ponds, and Rivers

"Scoot!" by Cathryn Falwell*

Falwell's richly detailed collage-illustration and lively rhyme capture the energy of a pond ecosystem. Movement and sound are abundant as all manner of birds, amphibians, insects, and animals are brought together by their dependence on the pond. Six turtles are the only still animals at the pond, remaining oblivious to the frenzy that surrounds them. Children will curiously await the event that causes the turtles to finally scoot. The brief, snappy text and emphasis on movement will appeal to the youngest children, while a scrapbook-like feature detailing Falwell's art techniques, including suggestions on creating textured art, will inspire artists in preschool-early elementary grades.

"Animal Babies in Ponds and Rivers" by Jennifer Schofield (non-fiction)

"Are We There Yet?" by Sam Williams

"Around the Pond: Who's Been Here" by Lindsay Barrett

"Down in the Cool of the Pool" by Tony Mitton

"Duck Says Don't" by Alison Ritchie

"Fish is Fish" by Leo Lionni

"A Frog in the Bog" by Karma Wilson

"Frog and Friends" (beginning reader series) by Eve Bunting

"In the Small, Small Pond" by Denise Fleming*

"Mr. Duck Means Business" by Tammi Sauer

"Monday on the Mississippi" by Marilyn Singer

"Moonbear's Pet" by Frank Asch

"999 Tadpoles" by Ken Kimura

"Over in a River: Flowing to the Sea" by Marianne Berkes

"Pond Circle" by Betsy Franco

Oceans and Seas

Miles, a young boy who lives in Puget Sound, is a volunteer Seal Sitter. Seal Sitters protect sleeping baby seals from crowds on the beach and educate tourists about giving space to the delicate seal babies. Told in amiable narrative, this empowering tale of environmental conservation provides plenty of endearing photos of leopard seal pups as they lounge on the shore and test the waters for the first time.

"Atlantic" by Brian Karas

"Billy's Bucket" by Kes Gray

"The Deep Blue Sea: A Book of Colors" by Audrey Wood*

"Dolphin Baby!" by Nicola Davies

"Go Jojo Go!: A Little Penguin on a Big Swim" by Tessa Bickford

"Harry by the Sea" by Gene Zion

"A House for a Hermit Crab" by Eric Carle

"If You See a Whale" by Julie Fogliano

"I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean" by Kevin Sherry*

"Life-Size Aquarium" by Toshimitsu Matsuhashi

"Little Dog Lost: The True Story of a Dog Named Baltic" by Monica Carnesi

"Miss Smith Under the Ocean" by Michael Garland

"Mister Seahorse" by Eric Carle

"I Spy Under the Sea" by Edward Gibbs*

"One Giant Splash: A Counting Book about the Ocean" by Michael Dahl

"One Lonely Seahorse" by Saxton Freymann

"Pierre the Penguin: A True Story" by Jean Marzollo

"Scuba Bunnies" by Christine Loomis

"Sea Turtles" (non-fiction beginning reader) by Laura Marsh

"The Snail and the Whale" by Julie Donaldson

"Stanley at Sea" by Linda Bailey

"Surfer Chick" by Kristy Dempsey

"Swimmy" by Leo Lionni

"These Seas Count" by Alison Formento

"Wow! Ocean!" by Robert Neubecker

Water: A Precious Resource/The Water Cycle

"The Cloud Spinner" by Michael Catchpool

A king hears of a young boy who can weave clouds into wool and spin the wool into sublimely soft garments. Soon greed overcomes the king, and despite the boy's pleas, the King demands so many cloud-spun items that the sky is cloudless, and a ceaseless drought results. Luckily the weary young weaver finds an ally in the princess, who unlike the King, is a wise and gentle soul with a plan to unravel, literally, the damage her father's greed has wrought. Alison Jay's folkloric paintings with crackled surfaces complement the whimsy of this hopeful fairytale.